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Elections, Information, and State-Dependent Candidate Quality

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  • Thomas Jensen

    (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen)

Abstract

The quality of political candidates often depends on the current state of the world, for example because their personal characteristics are more valuable in some situations than in others. We explore the implications of state-dependent candidate quality in a model of electoral competition where voters are uncertain about the state. Candidates are fully informed and completely office-motivated. With a reasonable restriction on voters' ?beliefs, an equilibrium where candidates' ?positions reveal the true state does not exist. Non-revealing equilibria always exist. Some main findings are that canddates' ?positions can diverge more in equilibrium when they differ more in state-dependent quality and when the electorate is less well informed.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Jensen, 2013. "Elections, Information, and State-Dependent Candidate Quality," Discussion Papers 13-03, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:kud:kuiedp:1303
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Qiaoxi, 2020. "Vagueness in multidimensional proposals," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 307-328.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Electoral competition; Candidate quality; Uncertainty; Information; Polarization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior

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